With the Knicks’ season hanging in the balance, Jalen Brunson took matters into his own hands in Game 5 to offer victory to his people in a packed Madison Square Garden. With this success, the Knicks return to 3-2 and force a Game 6, which will take place this Friday in Miami.
If the performance of the leader of the Knicks impressed the basketball planet, the opposing team is also under the spell.
“He has a strong desire to compete” highlights Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. “So he will continue to attack and try to manipulate the defence. He’s aggressive, he’s physical, but he also knows how to cause fouls. He’s also smart, and so he’s got this whole combination. You have to respect him as a competitor but also find a way to do the job.”.
Author of 38 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists in this 5th round, the former leader of Dallas allowed his team to survive one more game. But the most impressive thing is that he never left the game since he played the entire 48 minutes. A statistic that makes the performance even more remarkable.
Even better than in the regular season
“He is talented, this boy has a great talent” recognizes Kyle Lowryreleased like him from Villanova. “He played 45 minutes and 48 minutes in the last two games, and he should be congratulated”.
Many laughed at the Knicks when they paid $104 million over four years last summer to hire Jalen Brunson. Today, we speak rather of a “steal” since he was very close to the All-Star game with his 24 points, 6.2 assists and 3.5 rebounds. Better, on the playoff series against the Heat, he compiled 29 points, 7 assists and 5.8 rebounds.
“He’s smart, that’s one of his qualities. Our job is to get him to take tough shots but I feel like he’s got his bearings and is even getting those shots.” notes Bam Adebayo.
